Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Riconn Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Greene, Rhode Island 02827
Sunday, May 23, 2004 16:00 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
While departing from the 1,600-foot long, grass runway, with the flaps set to 10 degrees, the pilot realized that the airspeed was too slow to climb out, and there was not sufficient runway to abort the takeoff. As the airplane continued, the left wing came in contact with a tree top and the pilot performed a forced landing to an adjacent corn field. The pilot added that the accident could have been prevented if the airplane was not flown beyond its capabilities, and that the high density altitude and the short grass runway were the cause of the accident. In addition, the "Before Take-Off" checklist required the flaps to be selected to the "UP" position (zero degrees) prior to takeoff.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilots improper decision to depart with the flaps set to 10 degrees, and his failure to obtain proper airspeed, which resulted in a collision with trees.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 5/23/2004 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 1600 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Greene |
| Event State | RHODE ISLAND |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 02827 |
| Event Date Year | 2004 |
| Event Date Month | 5 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 414148N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0714701W |
| Event Location Airport | Riconn Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | RI11 |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 0 |
| Airport Elevation | 385 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1551 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 55 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | PVD |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 55 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 16 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 4900 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 21 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 15 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 160 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 9 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.83 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 1040 |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Minor |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | 1 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 16169 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA EROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | May 25 2004 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 955 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Sep 1 2004 7:08AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Bedford, MA |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N7132L |
| NTSB Number | NYC04CA129 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Grumman American |
| Aircraft Model | AA-5 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 0432 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2200 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 4 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Sep 9 2003 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 45 |
| Airframe Hours | 2100 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Leslie Jo Capozzi |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 2011 New London Tpk. |
| Aircraft Owner City | Coventry |
| Aircraft Owner State | RI |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 02816 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | -- |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | -- |
| Operator State | -- |
| Operator Country | -- |
| Operator Zip code | -- |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | -- |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | -- |
| Operator Certificate Number | -- |
| Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not | -- |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | -- |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | -- |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | Personal |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | -- |
| Departure City | Greene |
| Departure State | RI |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1600 |
| Departure Time Zone | -- |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | -- |
| Destination City | Greene |
| Destination State | RI |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Takeoff - initial climb |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 17 2004 3:32PM |
| User who most recently changed record | PEAR |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 27 |
| Runway Length | 1600 |
| Runway Width | 150 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |